UKIP to fight all 57 seats in Northamptonshire County Council elections

UKIP plans to fight all county council seats

Richard Edmondson

UKIP plans to fight every seat in the Northamptonshire County Council elections and has vowed to scrap the authority’s funding of a Brussels office in favour of spending cash on street lights and better roads, the party said today.

The decision follows a strategy meeting last weekend when 40 UKIP activists in Northamptonshire met UKIP MEPs Roger Helmer and Derek Clark and the county’s two existing councillors, Jonathan Bullock and Alan Pote, both of whom defected from the Tories like Mr Helmer.

Councillor Bullock, chairman of Kettering and Wellingborough UKIP Branch said: “We had a fantastic meeting which has followed tremendous growth in UKIP locally.

“More members have joined, particularly disillusioned Conservatives, and we want to build upon the excellent vote by Jim MacArthur in the Police Commissioner Elections last November which was as high as 25 per cent in some areas.”

He added: “We are currently developing our policies but we will certainly stop the funding of a European Office by the county council which has cost £1.6m - this money will go to street lights and better roads.’

This year’s poll on May 2 will see 57 seats contested after a shake-up of division boundaries reduced the number of seats from 73 seats.